Bear's Match (Bear Heat Book 6) (2 page)

Nicole gave her head a subtle
shake.

She was getting carried away.
This handsome young man was just a kind stranger who had very
skilfully and tactfully extricated her from the clutches of a
sleazebag. Well, she would have extricated herself, but with
considerably less tact and more mess.

“Um, thank you,”
she croaked.

He smiled down at her.

That smile.

The way his eyes crinkled.

And that cute dimple on his
left cheek.

Nicole stared into his bright
blue eyes and gasped.

“You...are you…?”
she began. “It can't be...”

His smile broadened.

They had crossed the road and
were standing in front of a darkened shop window. Nicole blinked and
turned her head slightly. She caught sight of a teddy bear sitting
on a shelf in the store.

“Boo,” she said
softly.

The man drew in a sharp
breath and stared at her.

“You had a teddy bear
named Boo,” she said slowly, looking up at him.

His handsome face split in a
grin. It was the same boyish, impish grin.

“No. It
is
you!
It is you, isn't it? Luke Keller!”

“Nicole Forrest. It's
nice to see you too,” he deadpanned.

She put her palms flat on
his chest and shoved him but it was like pushing against a wall.
“Luke! God, how long has it been? I can't believe it really
is you! How are you? Gosh, look at you!”
You've become
such a hunk!

“Yep.” Luke
chuckled. “I thought I recognized you. I recognized that look
on your face back there.”

“What look?”

“The take-no-prisoners
look.”

She laughed and shoved him
again. It was just an excuse to put her hands on him. She liked the
feel of her palms on his solid, broad chest.

“How have you been,
Luke?” She grinned and looked him up and down. “Wow!
You have grown, my friend, like really grown. You're so...tall now.”
And
so
handsome and sex
y, so much so that I
can't seem to keep my hands off you.

Nicole curled her
fingers to stop herself from trailing them down his hard biceps.
Instead, she gave him a quick punch on the arm.

“You've grown
up, Nicole Forrest. You're no longer that gangly, scrappy tomboy,
but you're still a spitfire.” He grinned back and his blue
eyes moved from her face to her body.

He swallowed and when he
snapped his gaze back up to her face, there was a spark of wild,
scorching desire and hunger in his eyes.

Nicole gasped and felt the
heat spreading through her body. To hide her blush, she spread her
arms wide and said, “Oh, come here, you.”

She grabbed him in a big bear
hug and felt the delicious hardness of his body against hers. He
returned her hug and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Nicole
inhaled his scent, and closed her eyes at the masculine scent and
feel of him. Gosh, Luke Keller was no longer a shy scrawny boy. Of
course, the last time she saw him, he was only eight years old. Now,
he was a man, a very hot, handsome man.

She drew back and took a good
look at him. They were the same age so he was thirty-one now, but
his eyes seemed older. Something told her that Luke had gone through
an experience that had a profound impact on his life. She sensed a
different Luke, a darker and more dangerous Luke. But she might be
wrong. After all, they had parted when they were kids. They had
both grown up and forged their own paths. Of course they would have
changed along the way.

“Nicole Forrest.”
Luke said sternly, holding her shoulders. “Just where have you
been all this time?”

“Right here, waiting
for you.”

Luke's eyes rounded. “You
mean you've been in the city all this time?”

“Yeah. I'm with
Morgann Hill. I'm now a junior partner,” she informed him.

He grinned happily as she
knew he would. He was genuinely happy for her. “That big law
firm? Wow, Nicole! You're a hotshot lawyer now.”

“What about you?
You've always wanted to be a cop...”

“I was.” His
voice tightened a little. “I was a cop.”

She raised her brows and
gestured for him to go on.

There was a slight hesitation
before he answered, “Now—I'm with the Black Bears Group.”

CHAPTER
FOUR

Luke watched Nicole chew her
lip. She always did that when she was thinking. Some habits never
change. It was a warm, comforting thought. He had changed too much.
The change was extreme and irrevocable. He was still himself, but
there was something else inside him now. Something deadly, predatory
and non-human.

“The Black Bears Group.
You're in the security business now, eh?” Nicole said lightly.
“I've heard good things about the Black Bears Group. The
company is owned by the Black Bears clan of bear shifters but I hear
they hire not just bear shifters, but other paranormals and some
humans too.”

Luke nodded. “Yeah. I
work with witches, vampires, all kinds of shifters, but the majority
of my colleagues are bear shifters.”

Nicole was peering at him
with narrowed eyes. He was wholly human when she knew him. If she
knew what he was now, would it frighten her, shock her, repulse her?

He waited but she decided not
to ask the question which was obviously on the tip of her tongue.
Maybe she felt the question was too rude and intrusive. After all,
they had only just met again.

They hadn't seen each other
in over twenty years. They were just like strangers, but not.

Luke could still feel the
friendship and affection between them. They were best friends as
kids, but now, there was something more. Something stronger and more
powerful, more intense.

Nicole was his best friend
since he was a tot. Her family had moved next door to his and they
had grown up together. But when she was eight years old, her parents
divorced and she moved with her mom to another state. She wrote once
or twice, but then her mom moved again and they lost touch.

Before he could reach out to
touch her, Nicole tucked her arm easily into his and strolled down
the street with him.

“How are your parents?”
she said cheerfully. “And your sister. I remember Jade used
to babysit us and she would take us out for ice-cream and treats.”

“My parents passed away
a few years back.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry...”

Luke shook his head. “Mom
fought the brave fight, but in the end, the cancer won. Dad had a
heart attack barely a month later. I think Jade and I kind of knew
that Dad wouldn't last long without Mom. They loved each other very
dearly.”

“I know. I remember
the way your parents looked at each other,” Nicole said softly.
“I thought it was so amazing, because...it was so different
from what I saw at home. Your parents gazed at each other with stars
in their eyes whereas I could see daggers shooting from my parents'
eyes when they glared at each other.”

“How's your mom?
And...your dad,” Luke asked tentatively.

“I don't know about my
dad. He completely disappeared. He never paid child support and he
never bothered to contact me. He just disappeared totally from my
life after the divorce.” She shrugged and fell silent for a
while. “Well.” With another shrug, she turned to him
and said brightly, “Mom got married last year.”

“She did? Wow!”

“Yeah.” A
delighted laugh bubbled from her. “It really is so wonderful!
My stepdad's a great guy. They're on their honeymoon now, a
year-long honeymoon,” she emphasized. “Oh, let me show
you their wedding pictures.” Nicole pulled out her phone and
scrolled through the photos. “Don't they look great?”
she gushed, thrusting the phone into his face.

Luke looked at the pictures
of the beaming bride and groom, surrounded by a crowd of smiling
people of all ages. “That's my stepdad's elder sister and her
entire family. These are her children and her grandchildren.”
Nicole pointed excited at the screen. “And here I am, carrying
her great-granddaughter, who is wearing the same pink dress as me,
just many sizes smaller.”

“Beautiful,” Luke
breathed.

“I know, right? Mom
looked so beautiful in her wedding gown. She didn't want to wear a
wedding dress initially. She just wanted to wear a plain white dress
for the wedding, but my stepdad wouldn't hear of it. She said she's
just a sixty-year-old bride, but he said that she's
his
bride.” Nicole chuckled, her eyes shining with joy and pride.
“He made her choose a real wedding gown and he got his tuxedo
specially tailored. My stepdad's a widower, and he doesn't have any
children.” Nicole tucked her phone back into her bag. “He
treats me like his only daughter, so he and Mom have been nagging me
to give them some grandkids soon.” She shook her head and
laughed. “Yeah right. To do that, first I need to find a
man.”

Luke cheered inwardly at her
confession that she was single. To his surprise, his bear reared up
and growled. It wasn't an angry growl. It was more a possessive,
territorial growl. His bear wanted to stake its claim.
Mine.

Luke jerked. What the…?

“Huh? Did you say
something?” Nicole squinted at him.

Luke shook his head mutely.
He didn't trust himself to speak. His bear might decide to take
charge of his voice box and let out another growl to show him who's
boss.

Gritting his teeth, Luke
pushed his bear down. He was in control of his beast, not the other
way round. Dylan had taught him to leash his bear and harness its
power. He couldn't lose control of his beast and himself. He
couldn't become the monster that he was made to be…

“Luke?”

He started and gave himself a
shake.
Focus, stay in the present, stay in control.
Luke dug
his nails into his palms as he wrestled furiously with his emotions
and his bear. He would not allow himself to slide back into that
dark, dark place.

Luke looked into Nicole's
deep, brown eyes and saw the worry and concern there. “You
okay?” Nicole put a hand on his arm. “You seem a
little...”

“I'm fine,” he
growled, then coughed hurriedly.

“Maybe you're tired,”
she said as she pulled herself away. She adjusted the strap of her
handbag on her shoulder and smiled. “It's getting late. I
should be getting home. Maybe we can catch up some other time...”

Luke felt his nails sharpen
into claws as the sharp tips gouged into his palm. His bear was
rearing up, ready to rip out of his skin and pounce on her. His bear
wasn't going to allow Nicole to leave.

His breaths were coming in
short, hard spurts and he could feel his eyes turning feral. Luke
squeezed his eyes shut to prevent Nicole from seeing the monster that
lurked just beneath his human skin.

“Nicole...”

“Hey, what's wrong?
You look kinda pale. And...oh, your skin feels really hot! Are you
having a fever?” She pressed her hand to his forehead and Luke
thought his body was going to burst into flames. She was standing so
close to him, her soft body pressed up against him as she felt his
face and neck.

“I'm okay. I...I just
miss...talking to you.” He took a deep breath and opened his
eyes. His bear had backed down and seemed satisfied and pleased to
have Nicole so near him. Her touch soothed his bear and tamed that
wild, temperamental beast.

“I miss you too, Luke,”
she said sincerely.

“Do you want to...come
over to my place? It's just down the road. We can catch up over
pizza.” He held up the pizza box.

Her lips curved as her eyes
lighted up.

Luke swore that a woman had
never looked so kissable to him.

“I'd love to!”

CHAPTER
FIVE

As they walked towards Luke's
condo building, Nicole jabbered on about what she had been up to
these couple of years. She worked, and she worked some more, that's
what she had been doing. She realized that she was talking too fast,
and she sounded like an excited schoolgirl, but she couldn't help it.
The more excited she got, the faster she talked.

She wasn't at all like this
when she was at work. Nicole the lawyer was cool, collected and
poised at all times. Nothing fazed her and she handled situations,
opposing counsel and senior partners with grace and aplomb. She was
professional. Yep, there was the professional Nicole, and there was
the...real Nicole.

The real Nicole hadn't made
an appearance in quite a while, she realized. She hadn't talked and
laughed so excitedly and happily with any of her ex-boyfriends. She
hadn't really been friends with any of her exes. They were lovers,
yes, but there was no deep friendship between them.

“Am I talking too much?
Too fast?” she asked breathlessly.